22. Bistro Bis
It’s hard to say what the best thing is about Bistro Bis. The food? The decor? Who is to say…Oh me? I’m supposed to say? Well, on this very occasion, it was the maitre d’. Instead of the standard nineteen year old girl hoping to make some Redbull and vodka money, Don Lean is old school all the way. Linen suit, working the room, all the while making the restaurant run like a top. Its the way I like to imagine classy Rat Pack restaurants being run, though the maitre d’s of that time were probably just more concerned with keeping Frank Sinatra from passing out in the bathroom.
And though a great face at the door is wonderful, Bistro Bis has the culinary chops to not even need such wonderful customer service. I had been to Bistro Bis one time before, and remembered it as being stuffy and cold. That wasn’t the case on this occasion though—not only was the restaurant about half full (impressive for an odd location on the Hill), but they had quite the lively bar scene at six o’clock on a Monday. The less-festive feel I experienced before might have had something to do with the fact that we were seated in the mezzanine. Narrow and devoid of character, the mezzanine was fortunately not open when I visited the restaurant this time. The main dining room, with its high ceilings and huge windows with views of the kitchen screams fancy pants cuisine.
Though the restaurant is technically French, I found that all the dishes weren’t exactly straight out of a Jacques Pepin cookbook. But don’t worry Francophiles; you can get your fix with pas de problem. We started with some sharsies appetizers, the steak tartar, the calamari, and the charcuterie plate. The tartar was great, though not as creamy as the one at Central. Had I never tried Michel Richard’s version, I probably would have given this one my “best I ever tasted” seal of approval, but alas it fell a tad short. The charcuterie plate was hyped up by our waiter to the point of no return, and though the homemade pates were great, the portions were way too small for five people to share. It would, however, have been a wonderful share appetizer for a couple. A couple who love a nice meat mousse. (The French got it right, pate sounds so much better.) We also had the calamari, which I don’t think of as a French dish, but this was a seriously great rendition of fried squid. And here’s why: bacon. There was bacon in them there squid, and we loved it.
That ended up being a theme throughout the meal—some sort of pork product in everything. I had the shrimp au mais, which ended up being shrimp and grits with a French twist. Not only was there essence du bacon in the (enormous) shrimp, but the corn relish was really just bacon relish with a bit of corn in it. And do you know what that makes? Something great. Something really great. And it was without a doubt the lightest incarnation of shrimp and grits I’ve ever had. The rest of the table was happy with their meal, with especially high marks going to the artichoke ravioli and the French fries served along with the mussels. The fries are right up there with the ones at Brasserie Beck, which is saying something. Sadly the mussels served with the fries were a bit lackluster, but when you’ve got something that is not fried potato next to something that is, it’s a pretty tough comparison.
When I saw that Bistro Bis was listed in the top 25 restaurants I was surprised. But after eating there this time, I can see why. And did you hear, President Obama likes the steak frites? I like a Commander in Chief who knows his frites.
